Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has explained why he included veteran midfielder Themba Zwane in the 2026 FIFA World Cup bound squad.
‘Mshishi’ is the oldest player in the World Cup squad named by Broos on Wednesday at the Presidential farewell dinner at Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest house.
The Mamelodi Sundowns captain has endured an injury-riddled campaign that has seen him in and out of the club and also starting fewer matches on his return.
Broos told the media on Thursday ahead of the team’s last match at home against Nicaragua that for a long time him and his technical team had been sweating over Mshishi injury woes and fitness when he did return to action.
The Belgian also admitted that Zwane is not a 90-minute player anymore however he will be helpful and important in some matches at the tournament in the Americas starting next month.
“You know how important Themba was for the national team before he was injured,” said Broos.
“So, the moment he was injured two years ago nearly I think, it was a difficult moment for us as coaches to find a replacement for him. So, we tried several things and I just was hoping that one day Themba should be fit and I was worried about it because when you have that age and you have that injury, it’s not so easy to come back on level.
“So, I was very happy that the injury was good. So now for him it was a question of being fit. I know that Themba is not ready to play 90 minutes at that level. This is impossible because he didn’t play so much with Sundowns.
“But he’s a very good player and he can help us maybe 45 minutes, or maybe 60 minutes, or maybe less in a game, because he’s a player that we don’t have beside him, with the qualities he has. He has experience, he is a very good player, he is intelligent in the game, he scores, so we don’t have that really for the moment.
“So that’s the reason why Themba is with us. I know that we will need him in some games, not for the 90 minutes but the minutes he will play will help the team a lot. I’m very happy that he’s with us.”
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